Sarah Palin Cuts TV Ad for Sarah Steelman in Missouri Senate Race

Justin Sullivan/Getty Images(WASHINGTON) — Sarah Palin is leaping to the assistance of a fellow “momma grizzly” in Missouri.

Sarah Steelman, who has enjoyed the backing of Tea Partiers in Missouri’s three-way Republican Senate primary, received Palin’s endorsement earlier this month. Now, Palin is appearing in a TV ad for Steelman in the race’s closing stretch.

Steelman for Senate unveiled Palin’s ad on YouTube Monday.

Despite backing from Palin and national group Tea Party Express, Steelman, 54, is an underdog in the state’s Aug. 7 primary. John Brunner, a businessman who has spent nearly $7 million of his own money on the race and who is backed by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, leads Steelman 33 percent to 27 percent, according to a Mason-Dixon poll conducted for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch on July 23-25. Rep. Todd Akin trailed in third with 17 percent.

All three Republicans lead incumbent Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill, according to the poll.